It has been a long vacation this summer during the last days of June and the first days of July. The weather was very pleasant and sunny that week, to which summer retorted by bringing on the heat and humility, starting on Sunday.

The big event for me was the reconstruction of the back roof of my house on Thursday and Friday. I have more to say on this here.

I want to add that the roof looks clean and sturdy, which makes the front roof look dirty from the algae growing on it. My attempt on Sunday to clean those tiny weeds off the front roof with what was supposed to be oxygen bleach has failed.

I visited my local state park, Mounds State Park, on Tuesday morning. I have more on that here. Given it is bound by a junkyard, an airport, and a bunch of seedy subdivisions, it did not sound as promising as it turned out to be. The fact that my sister the teacher visits it often, and that I did not have enough time to prepare for a Purdue visit, was the clincher.

Friday was when I did a visit, not to Purdue, but to its bookshops (Von’s and PUB). I did not buy much, though: Two books by Guy Delisle and a book on how to become the ‘quinessential gentleman’.

Speaking of my sister the teacher, on Saturday I decided to watch the town fireworks from my sister’s side yard this year. Watching it there had the advantages of visibility over the park’s trees and a quick exit when the booms are over. Oh, and the availability of insect repellent to ward off the misquitos. The disadvantage was the Justus private park across the street, whose people who paid to park there would not shut their yaps!

On the last day of my vacation I made an appointment at the vet for my cat Thyme; I discovered that the local egg farm, where I used to buy my eggs, has been closed for years; and I went to Muncie to eat, buy some dress shirts (my current ones are old, worn at the collars, and spotted with food stains), and get some new dress shoes.